What About openSUSE?

Attachmate plans to operate Novell and SUSE as two separate business units. But what about openSUSE?

In a short statement, issued in conjunction with the announcement that Attachmate would be acquiring Novell for US$2.2 billion, Ron Hawn, chairman and CEO of Attachmate Corporation, expanded on openSUSE's future. In the statement, Hawn says that the openSUSE project is an important part of the SUSE business. "If this transaction closes, then after closing, Attachmate Corporation anticipates no change to the relationship between the SUSE business and the openSUSE project as a result of this transaction,” he says.

Last week Novell announced a layoff of almost 100 employees "in response to the global economic downturn," without any further details. New information now brings into question the software house's commitment to openSUSE.